Today, anime based on video games are quite common, with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners being one of the most recent examples. Many franchises like Pokémon and Final Fantasy have built a strong fan base across multiple media. However, not many casual anime fans are aware of the first video game to inspire an anime adaptation.

Interestingly, the first two anime movies based on video games were released on the same day: July 20, 1986. Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach was based on the then-recently released and already rising in popularity, Super Mario Bros launched by Nintendo the previous year. Running Boy: Star Soldier no Himitsu was based on Star Soldier, a first-person shooter game. Since that day, the fates of these franchises have continued to diverge. It is noteworthy that neither movie was ever released in the U.S., and both are available only as archives.

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Super Mario Brothers' Success and Continued Popularity

Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros. Peach-Hime

Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach starts with Mario playing on his NES when Princess Peach jumps out of the TV screen, crying for help. The villain King Koopa follows after her, capturing her and taking her with him back into the TV. Though Mario fails to save her initially, he along with Luigi follows her into the gaming console to the Mushroom Kingdom to save her from King Koopa.

The movie was not a critical success, with an unoriginal damsel-in-distress plot and an obnoxious amount of product placement. However, it was a moderate hit at the box office, further spurring the game's growing popularity. It is also noteworthy that this was the first example of an isekai anime where the protagonist enters the world of a video game -- a trope that has grown highly popular over the past decade.

Today, Super Mario Bros is considered one of the greatest video games ever, having sold over 50 million units. Mario has become one of the most successful media brands, being the highest-selling video game franchise and having spawned multiple animated series, a live-action movie (which was an utter failure) and a wide range of merchandise. Another animated adaptation of the games, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is set to release in 2023.

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Running Boy's Plunge Into Obscurity

Running Boy: Star Soldier no Himitsu

Running Boy: Star Soldier no Himitsu depicts the story of Genta, a boy who wishes to become a video game developer. He gets a chance to meet his favorite game designer, and together, they develop the new Star Soldier game. However, his rival steals the idea of the game and publishes it himself, whereupon Genta challenges him to a battle in the VR version of Star Soldier. The movie failed at the theaters.

The original Star Soldier game had been released only a month earlier and was therefore unable to build any momentum when the movie hit the theaters; the rationale was for the movie to build hype around the game. While it is considered by some as an important game from its era, Star Soldier failed to garner significant interest among Western audiences. The franchise was considered largely mediocre then and has fallen into obscurity thereafter, with its latest launch having been in 2014.